Lautner, the star of “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and recent cover subject of Men’s Health magazine, presented a new clip from the film, but had to “earn his plug” by playing catch with NFL great Jerry Rice, who he name-dropped earlier as one of his favorite football players.

Leno embarrassed him with an old clip from “The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour,” in which a pre-teen Lautner is part of a group of kids singing the “Mickey Mouse Club” theme. He also asked the young star what the strangest encounter he’s had with an extreme “Twilight” fan was.

“It’s so hard to pick,” Lautner said, before sharing an anecdote about a “ ‘Twilight’ mom” in Denver who asked him to sign her “Team Taylor” panties.

The brief “New Moon” clip, cut specifically for the program, showed a shirtless Lautner, as the shapeshifting werewolf Jacob Black, leaping off the ground, up a tree and into the second-floor window of the character’s love interest, Bella, played by Kristen Stewart.

Lautner lived in Hudsonville until his family moved to Los Angeles in 2003 so he could pursue his acting career. He has starred in “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D,” “Cheaper by the Dozen 2” and short-lived TV series “My Own Worst Enemy.

The actor had three scenes in 2008’s “Twilight,” the first film in the franchise, but has a drastically larger role in “New Moon,” which has thrust Lautner further into the international spotlight.

Tickets for “New Moon” are a hot commodity. The film opens in theaters Friday, and is setting records for advance ticket sales. It recently surpassed “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” on internet ticket agency Fandango, and is prompting theaters to prepare for a frenzy of activity.

Celebration Cinema North, 2121 Celebration Dr. NE, will be showing “New Moon” on all 17 of its non-IMAX screens for the film’s midnight opening Thursday. The theater chain, which has locations in Lansing, Muskegon, Mt. Pleasant and three in Grand Rapids, has sold more than 14,700 tickets for screenings taking place between midnight and 1 a.m., 57 of them sellouts.

“It’s unprecedented,” said Steve VanWagoner, vice president of marketing at Celebration. “The movie will be officially in theaters for one hour, and we’ll have broken attendance records.”

Celebration’s previous advance-sales record was 2,100 for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which opened in July.

“It’s a really fun time right now,” VanWagoner said. “Each theater is going to have all hands on deck (for the midnight screenings).”